Elks give away school supplies

Thursday

Aug 21, 2014 at 1:00 PM

Back to school season is upon us and the Elks Lodge #1381 of Sturgis is helping with the back-to-school supply need.

Garrett Fergeson

Back to school season is upon us and the Elks Lodge #1381 of Sturgis is helping with the back-to-school supply need.Wednesday, Elks members and volunteers helped pass out school supplies including a backpack, two folders, a notebook, a pencil box, crayons, erasers, glue sticks, a dry erase marker, a highlighter and pencils. The supplies were given to children in grades kindergarten through fifth.“We are giving back through school supplies and we see that it is needed,” said Natalie Boland, event coordinator.This is the the Elks’ fourth year giving out school supplies.“We are not stopping,” Boland said.The supplies were made possible through a grant the lodge received. “It took us 20 minutes to stuff 150 backpacks because we had so many volunteers,” Candy Bohacz said.The Elks Lodge not only gives out school supplies, it also helps supply gently-used or new clothes.“We also give out clothes to people who need them. Kids who are going back to school need new clothes, too,” Boland said.The back-to-school supplies giveaway also brought awareness to bullying. Papers were available to parents about what to do if your child is being bullied or is bullying. For information on making a donation, contact Boland at Natalie.Boland76@gmail.com.